


The Consultant

by Third_Party



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Doctor Who References, Doctor Who Timeline Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2015-04-17
Packaged: 2018-03-21 19:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3702685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Third_Party/pseuds/Third_Party
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Time War was terrible and long-reaching.</p>
<p>Lost and alone a single Dalek prisoner tries to make sense of the new world around him.  </p>
<p>The Master and the Doctor are not the only Time Lords to survive the war.<br/>But can the Consultant trust them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Since the name the Curator was taken at the 50th Special Anniversary, I have had to rename my story. As soon as I did my Time Lord, now named the Consultant started to act differently and so I had to rewrite it all. 
> 
> What's in a name, huh?

# Out of the Void

There was no light, no sound and no feeling.

Just a period of endless waiting.

Strangely he was aware of time passing, or maybe the same second playing over and over again. The last few living moments before the door had closed and sealed them in here for an eternity. There was a sense of smell, of stale oxygen and hot metal. Of oil and ozone and that unique scent only an oppressive atmosphere could achieve. He was curled into a tight ball – at least he had been in the last few real seconds of his life. A fear reaction at the thought of what could go wrong. Experimental technology at its worst. Now he was trapped and unable to move while seemingly suspended in a dark infinity. A horrifying paradox of which he had no control. He could not feel his limbs, his breath or his twin heartbeats. He was just a mind trapped within a tomb of blackness. 

Not dead, not alive, just waiting…

To maintain his sanity he started to run through the list of things he knew were true. He tried to speak them as he thought them. He could not feel his lips or the resonance of his vocal chords. But still it was good to remember he had them.

 

My name is the Consultant.  
I am a Time Lord from Gallifrey.  
I am a TARDIS technician and a specialist salesman.  
Before the Time War I was considered a renegade.  
During the Time War I was considered an asset.  
Now I am considered a prisoner.  
One day I will escape…

…

…

My name is the Consultant…

 

Sound filtered across the void, breaking his concentration. At first he thought he had finally snapped and he was hallucinating. But as the noises formed into words and the words into separate people he knew his wait was over.

“Yvonne can you hear me? Yvonne, for God’s sake the sphere is active!” The voice was male and spoke in an Earth dialect. Earth, he hadn’t thought about that planet in about a century. English, the voice was speaking English. It was one of the dominant languages on the planet so it did not pinpoint the location. Nor, in fact, could it be Earth. The humans had spread so quickly once they had stepped into space. He could be anywhere in the universe – the time frame was vast.  
The Consultant frowned, or at least felt the emotion that would come with a frown. The voice was young, mid-twenties to early thirties, panicked and afraid. Yvonne, whoever she was, did not answer. He decided to name the voices as if they too were Time Lords. He decided to pretend that he was among friends. He called this first voice the Questioner.  
An explosion, deep and sonorous, vibrated through his being. The sphere juddered and shifted in a way that made his stomach lurch. For the first time in as long as he could remember the Consultant wanted to vomit. It was the most wonderful sensation in the world.

“We had them beat, but then the Cybermen just vanished.” A different voice, still male, but far more confident than the first. A London accent perhaps? Southern England for certain. The Questioner had the same traces of the accent too, though he spoke much more clearly than this other person. The Consultant named the second voice the Bravo.  
He wondered if he was on Earth, maybe he was in the United Kingdom.  
He hoped so – he was familiar with the island.  
Another explosion shivered through the entire craft and his left heart lurched into his throat.

“They found a way into this world, but then so did we.” The Bravo said. He was smug and self-assured.  
“But the Doctor said that was impossible.” A female voice, English, another Southern accent with the same intonations as the Bravo. Three in one place… He hoped in was in London. But she seemed the least sure of the three voices so he named her the Novice.  
“Yeah well, it’s not the first time he’s been wrong.” The Bravo replied. 

Wait. Did she just say the Doctor?

A wave of hope and fear mingled in his breast. The Consultant had never met the Doctor though he had searched for him on numerous occasions. It was why he had spent so much time in London in the first place. The Doctor’s TARDIS was old and the Consultant had feared for its upkeep. He had hoped to find him, to persuade him into proper maintenance. But that was a long time ago, before the Time War, before he heard of what the Doctor was capable of. Once the Consultant had thought his fellow Time Lord was nothing more than an amicable eccentric. Now the Doctor may be a dangerous madman. 

The Doctor, the Cybermen, the Sphere…  
Slowly like a great piece of clockwork his mind processed the information and things started to click into place.  
No.  
Oh no.

“No one knows, Cyber King, Cyber Leader… Whatever he is, he’s dead meat.” The Bravo said. He sounded so cocky and knowledgeable.

You’re wrong, my boy. So very wrong.

“Can anyone hear me?! I need help down here? I need…” The Questioner started shouting.  
The words were drowned out by a scraping sound which crawled inside the Consultant’s brain. His skull, he could feel his skull again and the weight of his body. The way his legs were curled up and his hands clasped into defensive fists…

There was light, too much light – he couldn’t see. The shuddering scraping sounds were louder than anything else, the light made his senses scream. It had been too long since he had heard anything, seen anything.  
It was all too much.  
Gravity took hold and the Consultant realised that he was upside down. His back hit the sheer side of the sphere and he cracked his head sharply off the metal. He flopped onto his side, undignified and gasping for air as his limbs were filled with pins and needles.

Beside him, his long-term captors boosted their anti-gravity engines and smoothly lifted into the air while the top of the sphere slid open. They were armoured metal, not made of flesh and bone. They were not affected by the sudden environmental changes.  
The overpowering scent of uncontained heat filled his nostrils and the Consultant rolled away as the flames from his captor’s boosters scored the inner shell. The crackle of power and ozone filled the interior as their shields, belatedly, came online.  
“That’s not Cybermen!”  
“Oh my god!”

**LOCATION EARTH - LIFE FORMS DETECTED**  
**EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!!!**  


So very wrong, my boy. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long post, but it had to include several conversations from Doomsday, so that increased the length, future chapters will not be this long. I promise. :)
> 
> Italics and bold did not translate from Word, so I had to go through line by line to sort it out. Also full stops looked silly with the dalek text and I'm not one of overuse of exclamation marks so I hyphenated instead. Don't be shy to let me know if the bold or italics didn't take anywhere. Cheers.

# Doomsday

 

“Daleks! You’re called Daleks!” The woman shouted at the descending warriors.  
Hmmmm…  
May the Novice was not the right name for her. He called her the Student instead. Wait what did the Doctor call those humans who chose to travel with him? Companions, the Doctor called them companions. With reverence the Consultant renamed her the Companion. 

The sphere crackled as it tuned out of the visible spectrum, cloaking itself to the outside world. The Consultant watched the dome closing again with a dumb inevitability. His body was still weak and he could not move quickly enough to stop himself from being caught inside. The edges met and for a long moment there was nothing but empty darkness, but it was a physical darkness. He could feel the walls of the craft, hear his breath, flex his toes. He was alive once again, fully existing in space and time. 

In front of him a small console flickered to life and Dalek runes moved rapidly across the monitor. The interior flickered and flat, curved wall screens turned on, covering the whole internal area. They flashed a darkish green and for a few seconds he was bathed by runes as each screen ran online checks. Then without warning every piece of the sphere interior wall became transparent and he could see the outside world. He blinked several times and sat up, pulling himself to the console. He ran his hands over the interface keys. A quick check proved that he had nothing but minimal control and he could not escape from the sphere. The Daleks were in communication with each other and the Consultant. Half the screen was devoted to their quick thought processes for his benefit as they assessed their current situation. They were fixated on the Companion, fascinated by her. 

His reflection glowed back greenly from the humming screen and he winced at his appearance. He had always been small and thin, but the time in the void had taken its toll. His face and shoulders were gaunt and his grey eyes seemed overly large in their sunken sockets. His expression was one of a hunted man. He could not hide his uncertainty and exhaustion. His hair was a straggle of blonde, unkempt and dirty. He wore the coverall all technicians of Gallifrey were required to wear during the Time War. It was covered with filth and sweat. Before he had ended up here he had been working a twenty four hour shift. He hadn’t showered for a week beforehand and he certainly had never had enough time to wash his coveralls. This had been the least disgusting set. He wished he had something better to wear.

Glittering around his neck was a thin golden chain from which hung a flat circular pendent of clear crystal. He reached up to touch it and closed his eyes briefly at the sensation. The crystal looked faceted but was actually a smooth, perfect oval and the gold was of a high purity. So high that he could leave his thumbprint in the metal if he was to press hard enough. He resisted the urge to do so, though it was a difficult decision. It was just so wonderful to feel again, to breathe again, after so very long in the nothing between worlds. 

“I know your name.” The Companion continued, each word pronounced as if she had won a victory already. Her hair was dyed blonde, but with her true brunette showing at the roots. Her eyes were large and brown and full of distain. She looked at the Daleks as if they had just come from under her shoe and cocked her head onto one side.  
“Think about it.” She continued as the Daleks watched her. They seemed impassive, but, their thoughts were running rapidly on the monitor in front of the Consultant. “How could I know that? A human that knows about the Daleks and the Time War?” She threw off the lab coat in a gesture to add weight to her words. Underneath she wore a blue jumper and some black army issue combats. Hardly the type of clothing to convey such confidence in her situation. “If you want to know how, keep us alive, that’s all I’m asking. Me and my friends.” 

“Yeah - Time War. I know about it.” The Bravo echoed her words. His skin was dark, and his hair was trimmed short. He had a full face that was quick to smile and his eyes glittered with interest. It was obvious that he knew nothing about the Time War and even less about the Daleks. Luckily for him the Daleks had never really mastered the subtleness of body language or tonal inflection. They considered such animal nonsense beneath them.  
A query flashed up on the console. The Daleks wanted to know if the Bravo was lying.  
The Consultant’s hands ran across the interface in answer. He knew the man was lying, but if he said so, then the Bravo would die instantly. So he told them he had insufficient data.  
He was ordered to pay close attention.  
He gave the affirmative.

The Bravo was holding a gun that would be pitifully inadequate against a Dalek shield and the man spoke in quick, clipped sentences while his gaze drank in the scene in front of him.  
“Time War… Me too.” The Questioner was a man of Asian origins. He had short black hair and wore glasses. He had an ear piece that flashed blue every few seconds and a white lab coat over a purple shirt and tie. His appeared to be an academic and it was plain his knowledge of the situation was even more pitiful than the Bravo’s. At least he knew enough to let the Companion do the talking. He also seemed to be the most sensible – it was obvious he was extremely afraid. 

The Consultant watched and tried to work out an escape plan for the humans. They had put forward a good enough argument for their lives, but it wouldn’t last for long. They knew the Doctor, a fellow Time Lord and so The Consultant felt a duty to them. He considered trying to hack the controls of the sphere. The Daleks had primary control, but he could do something simple – like changing the viewing screens to external. He could show his face, beam his warning out to the three watching humans. He could tell them about the attack on Gallifrey, how the Cult had boarded his research station and killed everyone. How they had taken him prisoner and stolen the Ark. He could beg them to get help before it was too late. The Daleks were too interested in the Companion to gun the humans down. But they would turn on him to shut him up. In the confusion the humans might be able to elude the Cult, find the Doctor and warn him about the Ark…

No. Too many ifs, too many variables. The Daleks would not kill him because they needed him. They needed the touch of a time traveller to open the Ark. It was why they had kidnapped him in the first place. But they would be angry with him, they would probably torture him. On his back was a control device, just between the shoulder blades where he could not reach it or disarm it. A dark, hulking half circle of black metal with sharp strong pincers which dug deeply into his skin. It formed a Dalek shield around his body, trapping his limbs and making him immobile. And once he was caught they could just turned up the voltage. When they had first taken him prisoner they had done it for days, forcing him to agree to anything they wanted. 

He closed his eyes. Was it worth the risk? At the moment he had minimal control, if he did anything out of the ordinary even that would be taken away. He would lose any element of surprise or any chance of implementing his own steps for escape. He touched the crystal around his neck again. In the confusion the humans might be able to elude the Cult, maybe find the Doctor and warn him about the Ark... But the confidence of the Companion and the arrogance of the Bravo gave him pause. Anyone who could talk to a Dalek like that already had a plan in store, or they were crazy. Since he knew that they had been expecting some sort of Cyberman, it had to be the latter and he was in enough trouble as it was. They were making it up as they went along and when faced with the Cult that was never a good idea. 

And could he trust the Doctor? The Time War had changed so many of his people into the very thing they had once despised and the Doctor had been at the centre of it all. No, he had to escape, get his time travelling touch out of the grasp of the Daleks. The Doctor was a soldier, a military man. He would be able to deal with the Daleks if the Ark remained unopened. 

He had to stick to his own plan. He had to get out alone. 

Once again he cupped the circle of crystal in his hand but this time he stilled his mind. He felt the connection as a soft pulsing heat, a third warm heartbeat in his palm. Biting his lip to still the roiling fear inside him he began to form the combination in his head. The pendent had been the only thing the Cult had allowed him to keep except for the clothes on his back. The Daleks had thought it a worthless heirloom and had allowed him to keep it to remind him of his destroyed civilisation. He had told them it had been his grandmother’s, told them she had lived on a part of Gallifrey which had already gone up in flames. Told them about her home and how the pendant had been a wedding gift when he had married. Told them how his wife had died in the first days of the Time War. He had told them so many lies to keep this pendent and they had eaten it up with relish. The Daleks valued hate and the Cult valued cruelty. By letting him keep something so very precious to his past they had hoped to break him, to make him hate with both of his hearts. They would pay for their mistake. 

He exhaled slowly as the images flowed through his thoughts.

 _The scent of burning electrical wiring on a hot day._  
_The sound of a cool breeze entering a stuffy room._  
_The feeling of peace when looking up at the stars._  
_The deep thrum at the heart of the universe when a new TARDIS was born._

The crystal shivered in his grip and turned a deep orange. The colour held the soft tendrils of a TARDIS heart. Worthless heirloom indeed. The Consultant had made her, had hand crafted the crystal shell himself. He had coaxed two TARDIS to agree to give a little of their essence, mixing their souls and making something new. She would have been a TARDIS, but the Consultant knew a different way to raise her. He had stunted her growth, but raising her temporal awareness so that she would live in the here and now. He had kept her small enough to live inside the crystal housing, but large enough to be self-aware and sentient. Unlike a mortal creature of flesh and blood she could speak directly to a TARDIS heart without burning out. Her name was Stephanie and she was cutting edge Time Lord technology. 

The Time Lord High Council had been horrified when they found out about her. All they saw was a deformed creature of wasted potential. The only reason they hadn’t killed her was because she was sentient and been able to mount her own defence. She had told them she was happy, glad to be alive and loved the Consultant as a father. So instead they had revoked his technician licence and classed him as a renegade. All research into her creation was banned or destroyed. There were no records of her birth anywhere on Gallifrey. The Daleks could not find out about her, nor did they have the ability to find anything from scanning the pendent. They had not known what to look for. Stephanie was his and only his. Normally he made little bodies for her, robot extensions for her to move around in and help him autonomously. But when the Cult had attacked he had taken her from her housing and put her in her travel pendent. She was bodiless, a mind but little else and her ability to communicate was stunted. He could feel her vibrating with excitement in his palm. 

“Shhhh.” He whispered, his voice no more than a breath. “I am going to need your help.”  
Stephanie stilled and flashed blue in answer.  
“First I need to interface and gain control of the shield on my back.”  
When he had been captured Stephanie had been dormant to avoid detection. Once the shield had been placed on his back he had been powerless to reactivate her. At all other times the Daleks had watched him closely as he worked, ready to punish him for any perceived deviation from their orders. Now the game had changed – now they had left him alone and they were distracted. He didn’t have much time, but Stephanie needed no time at all.  
A single orange tendril of light emitted from Stephanie’s core and she touched the device just once. That was all she needed, now she could control it.  
“Now I need you to hack this console in front of me. I could do it, but your touch is far more deft than mine. There is a small chance they would detect me, but none of detecting you.”  
Again a soft orange tendril left the crystal pendent and moved across the console, finding a way in. Dalek runes flickered and danced at her touch and within seconds she had full control of the sphere and all the other human technology in the room. Then she closed it all down again and gave him back his minimal operating parameters. She would reactivate the back door she had made when it was needed. 

**WHICH OF YOU IS LEAST IMPORTANT >**  
The Consultant glanced up from his work and shivered. He remembered those very same words from when the Cult had stormed his laboratory.  
“What do you mean?” The Companion asked aggressively, proving once again that she was completely mad.  
**WHICH OF YOU IS LEAST IMPORTANT?**  
“We don’t work like that, we’re all important.” She told them.  
“It’s all right.” The Questioner stepped forward. “I represent the Torchwood Institute. Anything you need can come from me. Leave these two alone.”  
**YOU WILL KNEEL**  
“Pardon? Why?” The man asked uncertainly.  
**YOU WILL KNEEL**  
Reluctantly he obeyed.  
**THE DALEKS NEED INFORMATION ABOUT THE CURRENT EARTH'S HISTORY**  
“Well I can give you intelligence, but nothing that will compromise Homeland Security.”  
**SPEECH IS NOT NECESSARY - WE WILL EXTRACT BRAINWAVES**

The other two humans shrieked and begged as if they knew what was about to happen. Their panic transferred to the Questioner and he began to babble in desperation. All to no avail. The Daleks placed their plunger like appendages to different places on the kneeling man’s head and extracted what they needed. They left nothing but a dry husk behind. His mummified remains fell to the floor in a shower of ancient dust. 

“Stephanie, could you put in a search and work out how to arrange a power boost to communicate with the nearest TARDIS? If this woman knows about the Time War there may be chance that a Time Lord is nearby. Quickly now, while the Daleks are distracted.”  
Stephanie blinked a green affirmative 

To his surprise he didn’t need to boost the signal at all.  
The Dalek runes disintegrated as a question flickered onto the screen in the language of Gallifrey. The Consultant gasped in both joy and dismay and diverted the query to Stephanie’s interface capabilities. He hoped the Daleks had not detected such a loud and blatant hack into the void ship’s systems. Stephanie began to flicker with a muted range of light as she exchanged courtesies. The TARDIS had to be close, maybe only a few rooms away. 

The Daleks started moving again and the Consultant watched them warily.  
**THE HUMAN'S MIND REVEALED A SECOND SPECIES INVADING THE EARTH USING THE SUPERSTITION OF GHOSTS**  
“You didn’t need to kill him.” The Companion screamed at the Daleks.  
**NEITHER DID WE NEED HIM ALIVE** She was archly informed.  
Approaching outside were two sets of footsteps, both in sync and indicated that something very heavy was making its way down the corridor.  
Dalek thay investitage outside disturbance.  
**I OBEY**  
As it moved forward Dalek Thay sent him an order on screen and the Consultant sent an acknowledgement. He began to type in the commands that would anticipate the Dalek’s needs.  
**ESTABLISH VISUAL CONTACT - LOWER COMMUNICATIONS BARRIER**  
His fingers flying across the keyboard, the Consultant connected with Dalek Thay’s visual cortex and created a large screen that hovered in the air in front of the sphere. 

The human’s didn’t even blink at this turn of events. No doubt they thought holo-projection was something the Daleks did as routine. There was now no doubt in the Consultant’s mind that these two were time travellers. They asked too few questions and showed too little surprise in alien technology. This could make his position more tenuous with his Dalek captives. They only really needed him to activate the Ark. If they had other time travellers on hand they may well see him as a liability. The Consultant ran his hand across Stephanie’s surface for comfort and she paused in her communication with the TARDIS to glow a deep a reassuring blue. He sighed and nodded.  
“Thank you Stephanie.” 

He watched Dalek Thay and the Cybermen confront each other in the corridor with only a mild interest. As far as he was concerned it was just another distraction while he struggled to gain his bearings of the situation outside of the sphere. While to two technological horrors shouted at each other and postured over the communications link the Consultant turned his attention back to the possibility of a TARDIS rescue.  
“What do you think Stephanie? Will she give us aid?” He asked quietly and a small text box appeared on the screen.  
_She’s Mad._  
“Do you mean the TARDIS?”  
_Yes. Ancient design, old museum piece, registered as stolen._  
“Ah.” The Consultant smiled. “The one that belongs to the Doctor?”  
_Yes._  
“The woman mentioned the Doctor, I should have realised it would be this model. Get anything useful?”  
_Fully up to date time skein. How to calibrate for the Time War when travelling through that period. We can’t stop there, we cannot return. The Time War has been locked down. We can no longer pass through it, but will skirt around the side. Makes the spatial maths tricky but this TARDIS has them all worked out._  
“And the other Time Lords?”  
_Gone. Unknown._  
“Understood.” The Consultant closed his eyes for a moment but now was not the time for grief.

“Okay.” He said after a moment, refocusing on the present. “Will the TARDIS alert the Doctor to our presence?”  
_Doubtful. She thinks I am a part of her personality that has split off for a short while. Apparently this happens quite often. When I leave she will not mention it. It embarrasses her on some level._  
“She’s that far gone?” The Consultant asked with professional mortification.  
_Yes. Still sharp when it comes to travelling, up to date and very aware. On everything else she is uncertain as if she is following a pattern she does not fully understand._  
“Thank you Stephanie.”  
_I think it will be wise for me to power down. I do not wish to be detected. Or enemies will not remain distracted for long._  
“I agree.” The Consultant nodded. The text box disappeared and Stephanie gave a small orange glow that dissipated like morning mist. 

When Dalek Thay exterminated the two Cybermen there was a request from the Cyber Leader to open a new communication feed. The Consultant was surprised they could find his frequency so easily but did as they asked and projected the Cyberman onto the holo-screen to talk with the Cult.  
The posturing and threatening continued for some minutes and while the Daleks and Cyber Leader were distracted there was a small ringing sound from the Companion’s pocket. The Consultant watched her pull out a mobile phone, activate it and slip it back into her jumper. He smiled to himself, so they weren’t alone down here. That was good to know.

 **RAISE COMMUNICATIONS BARRIER...**  
The Consultant prepared to do as he was told.  
**WAIT!**  
He paused mid-sentence and waited for new orders.  
**RUN IMAGE BACK TO...**  
The Consultant obeyed, his fingers running smoothly over the interface. He saw a man on a mobile phone behind the Cyber Leader. He had brown spiky hair and a look of concern on his face.  
**THIS MAN IS REGISTERED AS AN EMEMY** The Dalek turned abruptly to the woman.  
**THIS FEMALE'S HEART RATE HAS INCREASED - IDENTIFY HIM**  
“All right. If you like.” The Companion said smugly. “He’s the Doctor.” She paused dramatically, enjoying the Dalek reaction immensely. It backed away a few feet from her, its eye stalk swaying warily from side to side.  
“Stephanie? Can you store the Doctor’s image for later use?” The Consultant whispered and Stephanie gave a small flicker of acknowledgement.  
“Five million Cybermen? Easy. One Doctor? Now you’re scared.” The Companion continued.  
The Consultant winced at her tone and closed down the holo-screen. As he did so he noted in all the commotion Dalek Thay had forgotten to close the door after the physical confrontation with the Cybermen. If he could ever get out of this damnable sphere, there might be an escape route. It could be possible – today was proving to be full of surprises and distractions.

 **CYBER THREAT IS IRRELEVANT - CONCENTRATE ON THE GENESIS ARK**  
As the Daleks began the initial system rundown of the Ark, the humans huddled together. The Consultant saw the Bravo had a silver/white, disk shaped device that sported a large yellow button. The Bravo had taken it out of his pocket and showed it to the Companion. The Consultant couldn’t hear what they said but at the Companion’s behest the man hid it again. Then they both turned to watch the Daleks as they made their slow dance around the Genesis Ark.

“But why steal something that you can’t use?” The Bravo asked. The first pertinent question the Consultant had heard all day. He expected his cover to be blown, for the Daleks to smugly tell the humans that they had brought a Time Lord with them. Instead the Daleks gloated in a different way.  
**THIS IS STOLEN TECHNOLOGY - THE ARK IS NOT OF DALEK DESIGN**  
“Then who built it?” The Companion asked.  
**THE TIME LORDS - THIS IS ALL THAT SURVIVES OF THEIR HOME WORLD** The Daleks informed her, their tone was triumphant.  
“Then what’s inside?”  
**THE FUTURE!**  
The Consultant closed his eyes and shook his head. He felt so helpless, but he knew he had to wait. 

Time seemed to slow. No one said anything while the Daleks continued in their terrible purpose.  
**FINAL STAGE OF AWAKENING - YOUR HANDPRINT WILL OPEN THE ARK**  
“Well tough, coz I’m not doing it.” The Companion said.  
**OBEY OR THE MALE WILL DIE**  
The Bravo and the Companion exchanged looks. The woman sighed and shook her head.  
“I can’t let them do it.” She said and turned towards the Genesis Ark.  
“Rose no!” The Bravo said. Rose, her name was Rose. The Consultant filed that away in case it was important later.  
**PLACE YOUR HAND UPON THE CASKET**  
“All right!” She snapped back. “You’re gonna kill us anyway, so what the hell.”  
She paused, her hand hovering over the skin of the Ark and then she smiled and turned.  
“Although… You don’t know about the end of the Time War, do you?  
**PLACE YOUR HAND...**  
“Don’t you want to know what happened to the Emperor?” She took a few steps towards the Daleks again.  
**THE EMPEROR SURVIVED?** The Dalek asked. Its tone was almost eager.  
“Until he met me.” Rose said impudently and with a dark smile on her lips.  
“If these are my last words then you’re gonna listen:  
“I met the Emperor and I took the Time Vortex and poured it into his head and turned him into dust. Do you get that? The God of all Daleks and I destroyed him.”  
She broke into a high pitched laugh, full of nervous tension.  
**YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!!** The Dalek screeched with hate. 

“Oh now, hold on, wait a minute.” A new voice said from the doorway. Standing there was the man from the holo-screen. The Consultant had heard stories about the Doctor, he was a legend among renegade Time Lords. Most renegades left Gallifrey under their own steam a few days or hours before their new status was officially declared. They had owned a TARDIS for years and had been in service to the Council for a long time before they broke the laws of their people. But the Doctor had still been a young man when he had stolen an ancient TARDIS. He had been a renegade from the start, unwilling to bow to his people for even one lifetime. The Consultant had started his renegade life early. He had only ever been through one regeneration and just passed his first century when he made Stephanie and was cast out. But the Doctor had beaten him by decades. And the Doctor never brought his TARDIS back for servicing, even when the chameleon circuit broke down. Instead he kept the blue phone box as a kind of calling card, a way to announce his presence wherever he went. Out of all the renegades the Doctor was one of the most eccentric and one of the most frightening. 

Most renegades had their obsessions and quirks and some were fixated on one part of reality to the point of madness. But if you could understand that obsession, you could work around it and reason with them. But the Doctor’s obsession was with one of the few races that resembled the Time Lords and yet could never match them – the humans of Earth. His clothing was always outlandish and based on Earth fashion and his mannerisms copied them faithfully. Humans were so different from Time Lords, so short lived, so violent, so chaotic. Ruthless survivors and passionate lovers. Universal explorers and cultural assimilators, the human race was anathema to any Time Lord brought up in the ridged hierarchy of Gallifrey. As such the Doctor could not be predicted, could not be fully understood and had been one of the most terrifying warriors in the Time War. 

The Doctor’s code of ethics was so baffling not even the Laws of Gallifrey could completely pin him down on the rules of non-interference. They had taken him to trial so many times and yet the Doctor was still around. The Consultant remembered the one time he had been put on trial because of Stephanie and he shivered. His people had been so old, so hard and regimented. They held each of their citizens to the highest levels of propriety and only the Consultant’s youth had stopped them doing worse than banishing him. The Doctor had been put on trial for terrible violations of non-interference and yet here he was, free of the Time War, free of the Time Lords, walking the Earth unfettered and with his TARDIS intact. The Consultant could hardly believe it. 

In this regeneration the Doctor was a tall man of average build. He wore a brown pin striped suit, with shirt and tie, but wore white sneakers instead of leather shoes. His hair was brown and cropped short and his fringe was spiked with hair gel to keep it out of his eyes. His smile was ingratiating, if slightly too wide and he wore a pair of cardboard glasses. One lens was green plastic and the other was red. The Consultant wasn’t sure what that meant. Perhaps it was a human custom of some sort. 

**ALERT! ALERT! HE IS THE DOCTOR!**  
**SENSORS INDICATE THAT HE IS UNARMED**  
“That’s me all the way.” The Doctor said cheerfully.  
**THEN YOU ARE POWERLESS**  
“Not me.” He snatched his glasses off in one move. “Never!” He turned to Rose.  
“How are you?” He asked.  
“Oh, you know.” Rose said flippantly.  
“And Mick, de, Mick, Mick, Mickey. Nice to see you.” The Doctor continued.  
“You too boss.” The Bravo replied with a hint of a relieved smile. The Consultant filed away the man’s real name as well.  
**SOCIAL INTERACTION WILL CEASE!** The Daleks ordered. They all turned on the Doctor.  
**HOW DID YOU SURVIVE THE TIME WAR?**  
“By fighting. On the front line. I was there at the fall of Arcadia. Someday I might even come to terms with that.” He turned gesturing with scorn. “But you lot RAN AWAY!”  
We had to survive  
“What the last four Daleks in existence? What makes you so special?”  
“Doctor, they have names.” Rose supplied. Her entire demeanour had changed since the Doctor had arrived. She was still confident, but also relieved and a little bit subservient to the Time Lord. There was no doubt that the Doctor was in charge of the situation.  
**I AM DALEK THAY**  
**DALEK SEC**  
**DALEK JAST**  
**DALEK CAAN**  
“So that’s it! At last! The Cult of Skaro. I thought you were just a legend.” The Doctor gushed with enthusiasm and the Consultant sensed another bout of posturing. He touched Stephanie and felt her vibrate against his palm.

“Stephanie, is this true? Can you corroborate with the TARDIS? Has Arcadia fallen? What about Gallifrey?” The crystal flashed to show she was working on it.  
The computer screen flickered.  
_Arcadia gone. Destroyed in the war. Gallifrey no more. Disappeared with the Time Lords. Fate of both unknown._  
The message disappeared.

 **THE DOCTOR WILL OPEN THE ARK**  
With difficultly the Consultant pulled himself back to the present situation.  
“Huh. The Doctor will not.” The Doctor said scornfully.  
**YOU HEVE NO WAY OF RESISTING**  
“Well you have me there.” He shrugged. “But then, there’s always this.” He reached into his jacket and produced an object the size and shape of a large cigar. It was silver and glowed with a bright blue light.  
**A SONIC PROBE?**  
“That’s screwdriver.” The Doctor corrected them.  
**IT IS HARMLESS**  
“Oh yes and that’s why I like it. Doesn’t kill, doesn’t wound, doesn’t maim. But what it does do is that it is very good at opening doors…” With then he lifted it above his head and turned it on. It gave out a shrill vibration and with duel explosions the black doors on either side of the room blew inwards. 

As the Cybermen and human’s stormed the room the Doctor and his companions made their escape in the confusion. The Consultant gave a sigh of relief. His inaction had not killed them. He did not have to carry their deaths on his conscience. It was hard to watch the as the Daleks made short work of their enemies, but at least they were soldiers and not civilians. At least they had chosen this fight, rather than being in the wrong place at the wrong time and having their memories sucked out of their skull. Once they were done the Daleks returned to their primary objective.  
**THE GENESIS ARK HAS BEEN PRIMED**  
**THE ARK NEEDS AREA OF THIRTEEN SQUARE MILES - MOVE!**  
**THE GENESIS ARK IS MOBILE!**

As they left Dalek Caan turned to him.  
**YOU ARE NO LONGER NEEDED**  
The Consultant turned on the holo-projector so he could talk with it.  
“Is this it then? Are you going to kill me?” The Consultant asked. He was surprised at the calmness in his voice.  
**NO - WE MAY HAVE USE FOR YOU IN THE FUTURE - YOU WILL REMAIN AS OUR TECHNICAL SUPPORT UNTIL WE HAVE NOT FURTHER NEED OF YOU**  
“If the Genesis Ark malfunctions only I can fix it. All you need is the calibration to be slightly off and your army will cut itself in half as it exits the portal.”  
**THIS HAS BEEN CONSIDERED - YOU WILL STAY HERE AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS**  
Along his back he felt a searing pain as the shield was activated. It crackled across his skin, freezing his muscles and holding him in place. It wrapped tight around his body and restricted all muscle movement. He could talk while trapped and breathe easily, but there was precious little else.  
**WE WILL RETURN FOR YOU ONCE WE ARE VICTORIOUS**  
The Consultant waited for them to leave.

As soon as the battle started outside Stephanie worked her magic and field fell away from his body. He stood ungainly and stretched out, sighing and shaking his head.  
“What are the chances of survival in this situation?” He asked her. The text box appeared on the screen again.  
_Less than twenty percent. Chance of double cross extremely high. Chance of survival is increased if you make the Doctor aware of your presence._  
“By how much?”  
_No more than forty percent. Too many variables._  
“Surely he’d help another Time Lord?”  
“War changes a person.”  
_War changed the Time Lords._  
“I know.” The Consultant shook his head. “I know… What do you suggest?”  
_I would like to analyse one of the devices carried by the humans._  
“Deactivate the sphere and I’ll see what I can do.”  
Stephanie blinked as she interfaced with the controls and a strip of the sphere moved away from the front, forming stairs for the Consultant to climb down. He looked around and saw more of the white/silver disks worn by the humans. He reached down and unhooked one from the nearest body. He walked over to the computer desk in the corner of the room, placed it on the desk and laid Stephanie on top of it. He pressed the button on its side and the human computer on the desk began power up. It took a while to run through its start-up protocols and then played a tune which seemed obscenely loud. A text box popped up on the screen to show that Stephanie was ready to communicate.  
_Analysing…_

The wait could only have been a few minutes, but it felt like forever. He kept glancing at the doors. What if the Daleks returned, or the Cybermen? What if the Doctor came back? He didn’t know which to be more afraid of.  
The computer chimed again.  
_Interfacing with the local TARDIS…_  
“Do you have a solution?”  
_Item: Human device seems to be Void travelling technology._  
_Item: Dalek restraint device could create a temporary shield while travelling through space/time._  
_Item: I may have found a signal using TARDIS as boosting interface._  
_Confusing data…_  
_Analysing… It is possible that a TARDIS can be found in a bubble universe connected to our own._  
“There might be a third Time Lord out there?”  
_Unknown. Probability is high._  
“Stephanie, what are my options?”  
_Option One: Stay here and try to escape Dalek captivity. Chance less than twenty percent._  
_Option Two: As above but with fellow Time Lord. Chance less than forty percent._  
“You’ve already said all this.”  
_Option Three: Jump to the alternate Earth and start again. Chance zero percent._  
“Zero?”  
_Too many jumps between this reality and their own dimension. Void wall has fractured on the other side of the barrier. Alternate world is going to burn within a few months. High percentage chance that this world will burn with it._  
“Could we stop it?”  
_Not with the technology available to us at present time._  
“Is there anything else?”  
_Analysing…._

…  
…  
…  
_Option Four: Find signal of potential other TARDIS and lock on to destination. Eighty percent chance of finding co-ordinates. With a third Time Lord brought into the time stream and a second fully functioning TARDIS, ninety two percent chance of averting the destruction of this and alternate world._  
“Okay. That sounds better. What’s your plan?”  
_Use Void technology to skip across the skin of the barrier between worlds to reach second TARDIS. Chance of technology holding to course, seventy three percent._  
“And of the shield holding out while we travel there?”  
_Fifty percent chance._  
The Consultant sucked in a large breath.  
“Could we travel in the Void Ship?  
_No. The Daleks have placed a lock down on the craft. They have not instigated full parameters yet, so I have limited control. But if they sensed my presence they could shut me out._  
“Could you override their jurisdiction?”  
_Yes, but it would take several hours. I would have to be inside the sphere to make the attempt as they have used full military encryption. I would need direct access, which means breaking through their firewall. Any attempt has a high probability of my detection. If they detect me and instigate primary control before I could override their parameters, we would be powerless._  
“And trapped inside.”  
_Yes._  
The Consultant drummed his fingers on the desk.  
“We really don’t have an option do we? Find this other TARDIS Stephanie, we have to leave here.”  
_Working with local TARDIS to find co-ordinates. Please open back of Void technology and place me inside. When I tell you, press the yellow button._

The circular device was screwed together. The Consultant frowned at such a crude design and then shrugged in a resigned fashion. A quick search of the drawers yielded a small set of screwdrivers for the laptop on the desk. It didn’t take long to get the void device open. The Consultant took Stephanie out of her gold pendent and placed her inside the circuitry. A small puff of smoke came from the machine as Stephanie connected herself to the wiring. The Consultant put the gold chain back around his neck and screwed the back of the disk on securely. He pocketed the screwdrivers, you never knew when something like that could be handy. There was the faint smell of burning plastic while Stephanie permanently bonded the two parts of the device together. It wouldn’t do for it to fall apart in transit.  
_Analysing…_

…  
…  
…

 _Press the yellow button now._  
The Consultant took in a deep breath, let it out slowly and clasped the device close to his chest. He felt the button depress against his ribs and the Time Vortex spread out to engulf his senses.


End file.
